Resilient Voices

I sit today in my office quite concerned about where our democracy is heading. In my work, I have been given a mandate to develop and increase engagement and inclusion in community and society; to ensure there are processes, formal and informal, that support citizens to be part of their democracy and; to ensure policy and programs will be relevant, accountable and just. The benefits for including and engaging all voices of community are many. To correctly identify, diagnose and design solutions for complex challenges requires we hear the voices of all who are impacted, all who care about the challenge and all who have previously been silenced for systemic reasons. Without high levels of engagement by citizens, we have no capacity for building social capital or social cohesion – both vital for human and community wellbeing and resilience.

It is interesting today that many civil society groups are joining a mass black out of their websites in protest. http://blackoutspeakout.ca/  They are protesting the loss of voice – voices that speak to protect the environment and voices that demand justice from established systems of power that are creating disparity.

When the Quebec government recently passed Bill 78 to silence the voices of protesting students, it made demonstrating inside or near a university campus illegal and outlawed spontaneous demonstrations in the province. As writer and social activist, Chris Hedges notes in www.truthdig.com , “It forces those who protest to seek permission from the police and imposes fines up to $125,000 for organizations that defy the new regulations. This, as with the international Occupy movement, has become a test of wills between a disaffected citizenry and the corporate state.”

Despite Law 78, the protests continue and no doubt will continue until changes are made. It is an awaking by many young people that, not only has the previous generation sold the current generation’s future off through environmental and biospheric degradation, but the current establishment is in the process of selling off their economic future as well, with debt loads escalating beyond comprehension. Telling our children that “getting an education” is a ticket to self-reliance is being received with great skepticism, especially when graduates spend many, many years trying to pay back their debt.  

Our most crucial investment –learning– is getting sideswiped by beliefs, politics and priorities that suffer from short-term thinking and capitalistic ideology. And it’s not just access to learning in our education systems that is being eroded, but the critical learning that happens in community where one developes a sense of social, cultural and environmental co-responsibility.

In her blog, Susan-Casey-Lefkowitz http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/ suggests that with the rolling back of environmental laws and the ability of citizen groups to advocate for their environment and health—is clearly part of a longer term shift. “The Canadian budget bill cuts the National Roundtable on the Environment and Energy – a highly respected forum of industry, scientists and environmentalists that came out with a new report about the high cost of climate change to the Canadian ecomony.” Labelling anyone who disagrees or raises concerns about environmental practices as radical as seen in Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver’s open letter attacking groups he alleged were threatening to “hijack our regulatory system to achieve their radical agenda”, is clearly a conversation stopper. It also sends a message that it is “inappropriate” to engage in voicing your concerns and opinions, unless you are  invited to and you agree to play by the rules of the establihed powers.

We need to protect and build our capacity to talk about these pressing issues. Preventing or limiting citizens from expressing their needs and interests is not unique to countries run by fascist dictators, as “democratic” Quebec demonstrates. Outlawing discourse or limiting deliberation to a select few who have their own specific agenda (and one that is thought to cause harm to others), will no doubt lead to more and more of the protests we are seeing around the world. It appears to be a time in history when global voices are joined in a common message for the future– end the disparity, end the injustice. The voices are telling us to listen to what it really means to be alive and human.

Occupy Democracy

“…the threat persists; we are not entirely rid of it. And against injustice, our anger remains intact. Indeed the threat persists. We therefore maintain our call for “a rebellion—peaceful and resolute—against the instruments of mass media that offer our young people a worldview defined by the temptations of mass consumption, a disdain for the weak, contempt for culture, historical amnesia, and the relentless competition of all against all.”

 
From “Indignez-vous!”(Time for Outrage) by Stéphane Hessel; 93 years old; former French Resistance fighter against the Nazi occupation of France; French Ambassador to the UN; part of the team that developed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

 
Why are people currently camped out, marching and rallying in over 1500 cities in over eighty countries? What do they want? Why are they willing to sit and sleep in the cold or face persecution? Just as the Resistance fought against the occupation of France by the Nazis in World War II, part of teh story of this “Occupy” movement is a response to another kind of “occupation”. The occupation, by large corporations, of the territory we call – “DEMOCRACY”. But that isn’t the whole story.

As we watch the news or see the tents in our own city, we are in awe of and perhaps confused about this global movement – a leaderless, massive, peaceful effort that is drawing people by the thousands to a common place. We may think this movement is just about the crimes and injustice perpetuated by Wall Street, several US banks, and the US Government. If it was just that, the movement would have only happened in the United States. Why in Canada? Why in Europe? Why in Japan, Brazil? Have the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya influenced action elsewhere? Are people thinking that if they can fight against a dangerous and corrupt dictatorship, they too can make known the needs of the ordinary citizen within a democratic system? Have these distant rebellions provided a platform for many people in the western world – those who are discounted, ignored or systemically discriminated against – to make their voice heard?

Has the disconnect between governments and their people finally come to a head? Is there a belief that real change happens not at the political level, but the grassroots community level? Are people tired of corrupt governments and corporate greed in this age of austerity, as Amy Goodman notes in her broadcast on the Global Day of Rage? http://www.democracynow.org/2011/10/17/global_day_of_rage_hundreds_of

Are people tired of the hypocrisy? http://videosift.com/video/I-Am-Not-Moving-Occupy-Wall-Street

“From the Arab Spring to India’s anti-corruption crusades; from the mass unrest in Europe to Occupy Wall Street, 2011 has been a year of foment. Across the world, citizens in societies both strong and fragile have demanded ‘we want in!’” says Satya Das (Cambridge Strategies) in his policy brief. http://www.cambridgestrategies.com/Our-Work/51-POLICY-BRIEFS/View-category.html?ascdesc=DESC&orderby=dmdate_published

Why do these “Occupy” people want to bring the conversations about social, economic and environment justice to the forefront? Are these conversations currently missing? Maybe the conversations aren’t missing, but missing in some critical arenas – political and corporate arenas. Perhaps what is missing is the power of citizens to have a say in what kind of society they desire rather than having those decisions made by others who may only see one part of the story of progress – the economic story.

Many are questioning why corporations have such a powerful voice in deciding what our country will be and look like in the future? Their influence on government impacts many decisions that only focus on the economic aspect of progress.  But, if you don’t have vast amounts of money to lobby and pour into our political system to ensure high levels of influence over government policy and legislation like big business, what could you do? Create your own space? Some may call this movement “anti-business”, but it is not anti-business.(Premier Redford in her State of Alberta Address, October 24, 2011). http://alberta.ca/home/. It is a plea to reexamine the policies and practices that negatively impact the sustainablity of our future.

Everyone appreciates that the private sector is an important part of society. But it should not be the only driver of society . The economy is a subset of society, not the other way around. Perhaps, it is the balance of power and how wealth is distributed that is the problem. History has shown us that this disparity is not sustainable. We have many rebellions to learn from.

In an Abacus Data survey conducted by The Sun in late October 2011, more than half the people asked, believe the gap between the rich and poor is too large in Canada, and also think the rich should pay more taxes. http://www.edmontonsun.com/2011/10/26/more-favour-occupy-protests-than-oppose

Many in the Occupy movement feel a Robin Hood tax could help create more equity – a tax that would require banks to give back a small percentage of their profits to programs that benefit the people from whom they profit. http://occupyedmonton.org/robin-hood-tax-call-to-action/

According to research by Imagine Canada, companies with annual revenues over $25 million donated only 0.6% of their pre-tax profits back to the community. http://library.imaginecanada.ca/sector_research/statistics/business_contributions

In a democracy, the people, all people need to have equitable influence on the decisions and priorities that impact them. Much like it takes an ecology of life forms to make up an ecosystem, it takes an ecology of authority and influence to make up a democratic country. It means inviting diversity into the decision space. When those invitations are not extended, a space will be claimed and created, ergo, the Occupy Movement.

However, not everyone appreciates this movement. Esra Levant notes that the movement is simply a bunch of dirty hippies in a war against hygiene and challenges them to “get an occupation”. http://www.torontosun.com/2011/10/18/occupy-protest-stinks

Many of the news reports don’t dig deeper into the movement and focus on how many bylaws the protestors are violating. History has shown that we are byline readers and somewhat susceptible to those kind of distractions. There has also been criticism that protestors are unfairly comparing the US situation with Canada. University of Alberta professor Andrew Leach said he suspected some Canadian protesters might not have investigated the Canadian economic situation closely enough. http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Occupy+Calgary+protesters+continue+occupy+Olympic+Plaza/5559175/story.html

If the Occupy Movement is anything, it is diverse. The tendency to think that it is about one issue is misleading. The “Occupy” Movement seems to be about transforming those parts of our society that are not working. It is about continuing to strive for a healthy and inclusive democracy. It is about reclaiming the commons when so much is privatized. It is about reclaiming our humanity as resourceful human beings – not human resources who are looked upon as a commodity. It is about paying attention to basic human needs. It is about reducing ignorance and error in our thinking and action, reducing waste, suffering and injustice. It is asking, “Are we on the right path? Is this the path that will lead to a place where my children and grandchildren can live and flourish?” And, “Can we talk more about that?”

“There are unbearable things all around us. You have to look for them; search carefully. Open your eyes and you will see. This is what I tell young people: If you spend a little time searching, you will find your reasons to engage. The worst attitude is indifference.”            Stéphane Hessel

Ask yourself, is it time for you to look around, and carefully examine what is really going on in order to ensure a just and healthy world? Take a look deeper into what has created the conditions that have lead to this movement and this time for outrage?